The Oplontis villa is located within the modern city of Torre Annunziata, about 3 kilometers from ancient Pompeii. It's named Villa Poppaea ( Villa Poppaea / Oplontis Archaeological Site admission ticket not included ), after Emperor Nero's wife, thanks to a graffiti that bears that name.
You'll explore this huge villa, with about 90 rooms, which was built along the coast of Campania and preserves the most extraordinary frescoes found in the Vesuvian area. Your guided tour starts from the northern garden, continues to the spa area and in all the southern areas with striking frescoes in Second Style and Third Style of ancient Roman painting. A long portico leads to the patronal and servile atrium, and nearby you can see some perfectly preserved latrines! You'll pass through a wide and long corridor to the eastern peristyle surrounded by finely decorated rooms, with a huge swimming pool at the center, which was surrounded by bronze and marble statues.
Your licensed guide will show you the structure of the villa, and its many gardens, halls, corridors, an inner spa district, the triclinium communicating with the kitchen, rest areas, bathrooms for men and women, servant areas, a peristyle with fountain, and a huge 70-meter swimming pool overlooked by representative rooms frescoed with paintings that probably merged with planted plant elements.
When you explore, look out for the refined and sumptuous pictorial decorations scattered throughout the villa. The most significant frescoes are those of the Tuscan-style Atrium, including the famous wicker basket with figs and the sanctuary of Apollo.
